


I'm Sure He Knows

by SummerStormFlower



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Cole is good at taking care of people, Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Lloyd is precious, Sad, Teacher-Student Relationship, it's Morro's birthday and Master Wu is sad, kids abandoned by their parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 13:55:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20193382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummerStormFlower/pseuds/SummerStormFlower
Summary: If Morro had lived past fifteen, he would be forty-one today. Master Wu looks back regretfully on past mistakes. Cole always knows what to say.





	I'm Sure He Knows

It is on this day that Wu goes back to the monastery to remember the past. It is on this day, Wu thinks back to a time when he was younger and full of life. It is on this day, Wu yearns for a second chance; to rewind time and fix his greatest mistake.

To stop Morro from leaving.

Today is his old student's birthday. If he had lived past the age of fifteen, he would be forty-one today. Wu wonders what he would look like. He has only ever known Morro as a shy little boy and an ambitious teenager. And a misguided ghost, forever trapped in a teenage body. It's impossible to imagine him as anything else.

This is the day Wu wonders what would have happened if he had gone after Morro. If he could have convinced Morro to come back home, if Morro would have listened to him, if he had told Morro that he loved him like the son he never had. Could he have gotten through to him? If he had told Morro that he didn't have to be the Green Ninja to impress him, could things have been different? If he hadn't put so much pressure on such a young child. If he had made sure that Morro knew he was already perfect in Wu's eyes. If he had told Morro that the monastery's gates were always open for him, if Wu had taught him better, if Wu had told him he loved him.

If Wu had just told him he loved him.

Morro had done bad things. Maybe even unforgivable things. Wu knew that. But what kind of a parent would he be if he hated Morro? No, he wasn't Morro's real father, but he was the only father Morro had. He became a father when he decided to take in a hungry, sick child and care for him like his own. He became a father when Morro had accidentally called him 'dad' when he was nine, and Wu's heart had swelled with joy at Morro's embarrassed blush. He became a father when he started loving Morro like a son. He had decided to wear that mantle. He'd worn it proudly.

But then he'd let Morro walk down a destructive path without even trying to bring him home. And then Morro had died. Alone.

Wu had abandoned his child. A little boy who never knew love, who grew up never knowing who to trust, who never smiled until he met Wu. And Wu had abandoned him. Not in the way Garmadon had abandoned Lloyd as a child, but he had still abandoned Morro in a way that was just as awful--perhaps even more so.

It seems Wu did have something in common with his brother, after all.

"Master?"

Wu looks up, startled. Standing in the entrance of the monastery is Cole, an uncertain look on his face.

"Cole, what are you doing here?" Wu asks with a scowl, annoyed to have his thoughts disturbed.

Cole bites his lip, scratching the back of his head. "The others said you were here, and I know no one's supposed to bother you today, but... I just thought you might want a listening ear?"

Wu continues to scowl.

Cole gulps. "You're always telling us to share our feelings. Shouldn't the same apply to you?" Cole knows he's treading on thin ice. He knows he could receive a ferocious scolding and get everyone's chores dumped on him, but after knowing Kai for so many years, his recklessness has rubbed off on Cole. Besides, since the whole adventure with baby Wu, Cole thought he had bonded with his master. And Cole is good at listening to people. (Zane had told him so, and coming from a nindroid, that meant something).

Wu sighs. He couldn't very well be a sensei if he was a hypocrite. "Very well. You may join me," he says.

Cole flashes a grin, and sits on the ground beside the old man. A photo album is laid out in front of him, and it had been opened to a picture of a small boy with a green streak in his hair who looked surprised.

"Tell me," Wu begins suddenly, "is Lloyd still afraid of him?"

Cole thinks for a moment before replying. "He hasn't had a nightmare in a long time, but... I think he still is, on some level."

Wu hangs his head.

"But Morro didn't bleed him dry, Master," Cole says, "When Morro was possessing Lloyd, they got to know each other. Kinda. Morro saw Lloyd's memories, and Lloyd saw his memories. He never told us what he saw. He said that Morro could have been a brother though."

"He said that?" Wu asks.

Cole nods.

Wu closes his eyes, trying to picture there being seven of his pupils, instead of six. If only...

They sit silently for a long time--even though Cole had offered to listen. Cole wasn't expecting a chat though. Master Wu is the type to keep quiet about his emotions.

"You know," Cole starts, hesitantly and reluctantly, unsure if the old man will appreciate the silence being broken. Nor is he sure that he really wants to share this either. When Wu looks at him, he continues bravely, "When an important person in my life left, I... was upset with her. I was really upset with her." Cole remembers how heartbroken his dad had been. It was hard to watch him fall apart. Cole was only eight and didn't know how to take care of others. "But if she ever comes back," and this, Cole says with conviction, because he'd spent five years denying it and cried when he finally admitted it, "I'd forgive her in a millisecond."

Wu blinks.

Cole clears his throat uncomfortably, then smiles sadly, "I may not know all the details about you and Morro, but I know he wouldn't want you to blame yourself, Master."

Wu swallows, a lump in his throat, and turns away from Cole so he can't t see him wipe his eyes. He is a grown man, he will not allow himself to lose his composure. 

"I'm sure he knows you miss him."

Abruptly, Wu put his arm around Cole, stunning the black ninja. Master Wu is not overly affectionate. Which meant that he needs this. Relaxing, Cole leans closer into Wu's embrace.

"Thank you."


End file.
